TOKYO – The foreign ministers of Japan and the Philippines on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to supporting second-generation Nikkei-jin in the Southeast Asian country seeking to acquire Japanese nationality.

TOKYO/MANILA – Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a 69-year-old native of Chicago, was elected as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8, making history as the first American to assume the papacy. He has taken the name Pope Leo XIV.

TOKYO – In celebration of the 127th anniversary of Philippine Independence on June 12, the Philippine Embassy and the Department of Tourism (DOT) Tokyo Office have once again partnered with Hard Rock Cafe and Tony Roma’s to launch the “Love the Philippines” culinary campaign.

TOKYO – Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise returned to the Land of the Rising Sun for the 25th time to celebrate what he called the “culmination” of a franchise three decades in the making, as “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” held its Japan premiere on May 6.